Carpet stretcher



April 21, J. HILL CARPET STRETCHER Filed Jan. 25. 1957, 2 sheets-sheet 1 jure/Woe. 1

uf/f@ NTLWMI mm April 21, 1959 H. J. HILL i2,882,642 I CARPET STRETCHER File@ Jan. .25, 1957 2 sneatsfsheet 2 Hdl/@Vey rates CARPET srnnrcnnn Harvey I. Hill, Monterey Park, Calif., assignor to Roberts Manufacturing Co., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application January 25, 1957, Serial No. 636,366

6 Claims. (Cl. 45-89) This invention relates to carpet stretcher devices and particularly to a stretcher of the type having a head provided with prongs engageable with a carpet and adapted to stretch the same when the device is moved relative to the oor or other surface to which the carpet is to be applied.

Carpet stretchers of this general type include a head having a chamber opening downward in which a plate is disposed, the plate having a plurality of prongs adapted to engage in a carpet to stretch the same when the head is moved relative to the oor upon which the carpet is laid, a handle being connected to the head t facilitate such movement of the device. As carpets vary considerably in thickness and quality, it is common for such carpet stretchers to have the carpet engaging prongs adjustable vertically in order to vary their penetration into the carpets. Such carpet engaging prongs or pins are ordinarily adjusted to engage the fibers comprising the base of the carpet. Since these pins are large and relatively widely spaced, there is often wrinkling of the top surface of the carpet. It is an object of the invention to provide a carpet stretcher which will provide a smooth surface in the finished carpet, such stretcher including two sets of carpet engaging pins, the pins of one of said sets being relatively long for engaging the base of the carpet and the pins of the other such set being relatively short for engaging the top surface or nap of the carpet. Another object of the invention is to provide such a carpet stretcher in which the relative lengths of projection of the two sets of pins are adjustable. A further object of the invention is to provide such a carpet stretcher in which the long pins are interspersed among the short pins so as to apply uniform forces over the entire area being engaged by the carpet stretcher.

Wall-to-wall carpeting is generally installed by having the edges of the carpet held by small projections projecting generally upward at an angle from a board secured to the floor of the room between anadjacent wall and the terminal edge of a carpet cushioning pad. When installing such carpeting, it is desirable to engage the carpet warp with the projections in the board at the farthest point of forward movement of the stretch. It is extremely diflicult to make this engagement by hand at the eXtreme point of forward movement; thus, the carpet rebounds before contact with the projections on the board, the result being a less desirable tautness. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a carpet stretcher which will keep the carpet more pressed down on the projections in the board, so that, when the carpet has reached the farthest point of forward movement, the Warp of the carpet will become engaged with the projections at the instant the carpet rebounds from the stretch. A further object of the invention is to provide such a carpet stretcher in which an area or portion of the short pins extend forward, in a horizontal plane, of the long pins so that the short pins may move the edge of the carpet over the projections in the board without danger of the long pins catching on the projections or the board.

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It is a further object of the invention to provide a carpet stretcher embodying a knee-kicker pad for applying lateral forces to the head and one in which the length of the handle coupling the knee-kicker pad to the head is adjustable to provide for convenient operation by persons of different physical requirements as well as for operation in close quarters, such as in closets or the like.

It is another object of the invention to provide a carpet stretcher embodying a knee-kicker pad in which the type of impact delivered to the carpet being stretched is controllable by varying the location of the knee-kicker pad. Such a construction will enable the operator to adjust the carpet stretcher to the particular type of carpet being installed without requiring the operator to vary his own technique for installation.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. The drawings merely show and the description merely describes preferred embodiments of the present invention which are given by way of illustration or example. Y

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top View of a preferred embodiment of the invention with a portion of a control knob broken away;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the embodiment of Fig. l, shown partly in section;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; f

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional View taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 3 and;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 8 8 of Fig. 2. z

The carpet stretcher as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, includes an elongated body or handle 10, a knee-pad 11 mounted at one end of the body and a head 12 mounted at the other end of the body. The head 12 is a boxshaped structure having a horizontally disposed bottom 13 with relatively long carpet engaging pins 14 and rela tively short carpet engaging pins 15 projecting below the bottom 13. It is preferred in the practice of the invention to have the relative distance of downward projection of the long and short pins adjustable so that the carpet stretcher may be used to optimum advantage with various types and grades of carpet. In the embodiment shown herein, the long pins 14 are movable vertically relative to the head 12 and the short pins 15 to provide such adjustment, the long pins being mounted in a plate 18 positioned within the head 12.

A bushing 19 (Fig. 3) is xed in the plate 18 and threaded to receive a threaded end 20 of an adjustment screw 21, the adjustment screw being rotatably mounted in a top wall 22 of the head 12. A knob 23 is xed to the upper end of the adjustment screw 21, externally of the head 12, for actuating the adjustment screw and moving the plate 18 vertically relative to the head, the knob and screw being spaced from the top wall by washers 24 and 2S respectively.

Rectangular notches 28 and 29 are provided in the rear wall of the plate 18 (Figs. 3 and 5) for receiving cylindrical bearings 30 and 31 respectively which space the plate 18 from the head 12 permitting vertical movement of the plate relative to the head. A plurality of detents 32 are provided on the undersurface of the knob 23 (Figs. 3 and 7) for engaging a detent spring 33 mounted on the top wall 22 of the .headtFigs l, 3 and.

7) to maintain the knob in a position to which it is manually rotated. An index mark 34 is provided on the top wall 22 (Figs. l and 3) and a plurality of numbers 35 are provided on the knob permitting setting of the position of the lo-ng pins 14 without requiring visual inspection ofthe under side of the carpet structure.

The short carpetengaging pins 1S.whicl1 project below the bottom 13 of the head 12 are mounted in vthree identical pads 37, each pad being held in place in mating recesses 38, 39 in the head by a screw 40. The pads 37 may be manufactured in the same manner as a wire brush and in the embodiment shown herein, a plurality of wire staples 41 is passed through a ilexible backing 42, which may be of cloth or the like (Fig. 6). The backing 42 with the staples 41 projecting therethrough is placed in a longitudinal stilener plate 43 with the ends of the plate being crimped over the backing (Fig. 3) and then this assembly is laid in a lateral stitener plate 44 and the :sides of the lateral plate are crimped over the backing to produce a stiif pad for supporting the short carpet engaging pins.

The short pins 15 which are mounted in the pads 37 extend over substantially the entire bottom surface of the head 12 (Fig. 2) with the long pins14 positioned on both sides of and between the pads so that the long pins also extend over substantially the entire width of the head. However, the long pins 14 do not extend over the entire length of the head, covering only approximately the rear two thirds thereof. The important advantage achieved from this particular pin layout will be described hereinbelow. It is preferred to have the lower ends of the pins which engage the carpet sloping in the direction of motion of the carpet stretcher when a carpet is being stretched, which is to the left as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4. This enables the carpet stretcher to obtaina better grip on the carpet.

The long pins 14 are preferably made relatively thick since they must penetrate to the base of the carpet and transmit the major portion of the carpet stretching force from the stretcher to the carpet. The short pins, which engage the nap of the carpet at the upper surface thereof, need not be so thick but preferably cover a major portion of the area of the carpet contacted by the carpet stretcher so as to keep the carpet smooth and free of wrinkles.

The body of the carpet stretcher includes telescoping handle members 47, 4S (Fig. 2), the former being connected to and extending horizontally from the head 12 and the latter being connected to and extending from the knee-pad 11. Three circumferential grooves 49 are formed on the inner telescoping member 48, the channels being spaced along the length of the member. The open end of the outer telescoping member 47 is slotted to provide a plurality of axially extending fingers Stl` (Fig. S) and each finger is provided with an indentation 51 corresponding in shape to the channels 49 so that when the members are telescopingly engaged, the fingers will spread apart until the indentations are nesting in one of the channels. A sleeve 52 is slidingly positioned upon the outer telescoping member 47 and, when moved to the end of the member as shown in Fig. 2, serves to maintain the telescoping members xed relative to each other.

The knee pad 11 includes a shell S5 (Fig. 2) having the inner telescoping member 48 mounted at one end thereof and a rigid plate 56 mounted at the other end thereof. A resilient pad 57, which may be of sponge rubber or the like, is mounted on a ring 58 by a cover 59, which may be of leather, plastic or similar material, the cover being held to bosses 60 on the ring 58,' by f astener clips 6,1. The ring 58 is threadedly mounted on the shell 55 so that the spacing between the resilient pad 57 and the rigid plate 56 may be changed, the ring being locked in position by a lock nut 62 also threadedly mounted on the shell 55. An opening 63 in the plate 4f- 56 provides communication between the air space adjacent pad 57 and the air space within telescoping handles. The latter air space may be vented to the surrounding atmosphere.

A typical application of a carpet stretcher of the invention is shown in Fig. 3 where a oor 65, a wall 66, a pad 67, a carpet gripper strip 68 and a carpet 69 are shown in phantom. The long pins are hooked into the base of the carpet and the short pins are hooked into the nap of the carpet. At the moment of maximum travel to the left of the carpet stretcher, the carpet will be hooked over the 'upwardly projecting pins of the carpet gripper strip 68, thereby automatically hooking the carpet at the maximum stretched position without requiring that the operator use his lingers between the carpet stretcher and the wall for the hooking operation. Thus the possibility of injury is eliminated at the same time that optimum hooking is achieved. Furthermore, the use of the short pins positioned between the long pins prevents the carpet from climbing up the long pins when the stretching force is applied and thereby creating wrinkles. Also, since force is applied both to the base and the nap of the carpet, the possibility of tearing of the carpet is substantially reduced.

When the long pinsare fully retracted, only the closely spaced, relatively thin, short pins will engage the carpet. Hence, the carpet stretcher of the invention is especially suitable for stretching light weight carpets with the long pins thus retracted, since the heavy, widely spaced, long pins tend to wrinkle and tear the lighter weight material.

The adjustment of the spacing between the resilient pad and the rigid plate of the knee pad permits control of the type of impact applied to the carpet without requiring the operator to gauge the type of impact delivered by his knee. When the pad and plate are close together, a firm or sharp impact is produced, whereas when the pad and plate are spaced far apart, a soft or cushioned impact is delivered. This feature of the carpet stretcher of the invention permits it to be used at optimum advantage with various types of carpets. The opening in the plate is made small so as to act as a restriction on the ilow of air from the space adjacent the pad and thereby provide further control on the resilience of the impact.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and discussed, it will be understood that other applications of the invention are possible and that the embodiment disclosed may be subjected to various changes, modications and substitutions without necessarily departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of: a horizontally disposed elongated body; a head fixed at one end of said body; a plurality of relatively short carpet engaging pins projecting downward from said head; a plurality of relatively long carpet engaging pins projecting downward from said head beyond said short pins; and means mounted in said head for moving said long pins vertically relative to said short pins.

2. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of: a hori- Azontally disposed elongated body; a head fixed at one end of said body, said head having a bottom area divided into a rear zone adjacent said body and a forward zone spaced from said body by said rear zone; a plurality of relatively short carpet engaging pins projecting downward from said head, said short pins being positioned in both of said zones; and a plurality of relatively long carpet engaging pins projecting downward from said head beyond said short pins, said long pins being positioned in said rear zone only.

3. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of: a horizontally disposed elongated body; a head fixed at one end of said body, said head having a bottom area divided into a rear zone adjacent said body and a forward zone S spaced from said body by said rear zone; a plurality of relatively short carpet engaging pins projecting downward from said head, said sh nrt pins being positioned in both of said zones; a plurality of relatively long carpet engaging pins projecting downward from said head beyond said short pins, said long pins being positioned in said rear zone only, said long pins being interspersed among said short pins; means mounted in said head for moving said long pins vertically relative to said short pins; and a knee pad fixed at the other end of said body.

4. In a carpet stretcher, the combination of: a horizontally disposed elongated body; a head Xed at one end of said body, said head having a closed top and sides and an open bottom; a plurality of relatively short carpet engaging pins mounted in said head and extending downward past said open bottom; a plate mounted in said head; means for moving said plate vertically within said head; knob means for actuating said last mentioned means externally of said head; and a plurality of relatively long carpet engaging pins mounted in said plate and extending downward therefrom, the movement of said plate permitting the ends of said long pins to project downward beyond the ends of said short pins, said ends of said pins pointing away from said body.

5. In a carpet stretcher having an elongated handle with a carpet engaging head at one end thereof, the combination of: a rigid plate mounted on the other end of the handle substantially transverse to the axis of the handle; a resilient pad mounted on said handle, overlying and spaced from said plate; and means for moving said pad relative to said plate to vary the spacing therebetween.

6. In a carpet stretcher having an elongated handle with a carpet engaging head at one end thereof, the combination of: a rigid plate mounted on the other end of the handle substantially transverse to the axis of the handle, said plate having an opening therethrough; a resilient pad mounted on said handle, overlying and spaced from said plate and dening a cavity between said plate and said pad, said opening in said plate providing communication between said cavity and a substantially larger cavity within the handle; and means for moving saidpad relative to said plate to vary the spacing therebetween and the volume of said cavity.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

